It is well known that the rays of the sun which penetrate vehicle windows can have a damaging effect on the upholstery and other components or packages therein. With the windows closed for security of the vehicle, the rays of the sun beating on to the vehicle raise the temperatures of the vehicle interior to high levels. Combined with the bleaching action of the rays of the sun, materials such as leather, vinyl or the like tend to fade, rot, crack or become brittle, or otherwise damaged thereby. The same holds true for other plastic components commonly found in modern vehicles.
In an attempt to block the rays of the sun from penetrating the vehicle, various devices have been used. For example, in Levy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,396, a vehicle sunshade is disclosed which is adapted to be fixed between the vehicle dashboard and the upper margin of the vehicle front windshield. When extended, the sunshade substantially expands over the interior extent of the windshield and is opaque to block the rays of the sun from encountering the components of the interior. For storage, the sunshade is provided with laterally extending folds defining rectangular elements which can be folded together in an accordion-like fashion about the folds to a collapsed state.
A problem with the Levy type of sunshade is that when in the collapsed position defining what will hereinafter become referred to as "a pack", at least one dimension of the pack is defined by the lateral extent of the window. Hence, if the front window has a large bottom-to-top dimension the folded sunshade pack also having that dimension will likewise be large. As a result, easy use and storage of the sunshade have been frustrated. The only convenient places in which the sunshade pack can be stored are in the back seat, rear window ledge or trunk necessitating that the driver retrieve the pack from these remote locations for use. Storage in the front seat or glove compartment, which would certainly be more convenient, is out of the question based upon the elongate dimension of the pack.